Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Company Blog Checkup Series

One of the more popular features of The Viral Garden is the Company Blog Checkup series. In each Checkup post, I cover a different company blog, examining all aspects of the blog to determine how effective it is. I review the blog's content, posting patterns, how the writers deal with comments, and all visual elements. The idea is to give companies feedback on their blog from the reader's point of view. I measure how good of a job the blog does of giving the reader the information s/he will want and need.

I am now also offering extensive blog checkups for companies and small businesses that need an in depth evaluation of its blog. This service is available in two versions:

1. - Remote. A detailed analysis of your blog, judging its content, visual appeal, posting schedule, and the ability of your writers to effectively use comments as a tool to provide and encourage valuable feedback from your blog's readers. All analysis is aimed at positioning your company blog to give the reader the best and most relevant experience as possible. After receiving my detailed report including an analysis of your company blog, I provide you with a one hour phone consultation to completely explain my report so that you understand all of my findings and recommendations. Price for this service is $1,500.00.

2. - On-location. With this service, I provide the same detailed analysis of your blog that I do in my remote service, and then discuss my findings and recommendations with you on-site. The big advantage to this service is that I can work with your writers in person to coach them on how to create content that readers will respond to. And when your readers do respond, I show your writers how to effectively respond to comments your readers leave. I also demonstrate how you can track what others are saying about your company on their blogs and sites, and how to properly respond to posts and comments they leave. Price for this service is $4,000.00 plus travel expenses.

Please keep in mind that with each of these services, the report you're supplied with will be customized, and far more in-depth (typically 15-20 pages) than what you find in a typical Company Blog Checkup post. If either of these services sounds like what you're looking for, or if you need more information, please email me.

A focal point of these reports will be showing you how to grow your blog's readership. I will employ the same tactics and strategies that I have used to grow The Viral Garden's daily readership to its current level of over 3,000 readers. Here is how The Viral Garden's readership has grown over the lifetime of the blog:



Here's a complete list of all the companies and small businesses whose blogs have been profiled in the Company Blog Checkup series so far.

And thanks to the company leaders that have provided their feedback, including:

"...the Dell digital media team would be delighted to brainstorm with you if you have the time. The deeper we get into this new world of ours the more we know we have to learn." - John Pope, Dell Digital Media


"Tremendous post, Mack. You hit all the right notes with this post and your feedback is along the lines of the changes we've planned thus far." - Mario Sundar, LinkedIn's Community Evangelist


"Mack, Thanks for your most excellent post about our blogs at Kodak." - Tom Hoehn, Director of Marketing and Customer Experience/Kodak.com


"I too found your review of the HomeGoods Openhouse site very positive and insightful." - Cathy, one of the authors of the OpenHouse blog